Roethlisberger: Hines will do what's best for Hines

Posted by Mike Florio on December 8, 2009, 7:20 PM EST

When Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missed a game because of a concussion, receiver Hines Ward didn’t show a lot of compassion, making comments about a divided locker room and hurting Roethlisberger’s feelings.

Now Ward may miss a game because of a hamstring injury. And Roethlisberger is saying Ward will do whatever is best for himself.

“Hines will do what’s best for Hines, I’m sure,” Roethlisberger said of Ward today. “We’re not going to make any quick decisions on Hines because we know he still may be out there. I don’t really know what the situation is with him yet.”

Ward had previously suggested that the Steelers’ locker room was divided on whether or not Roethlisberger should have played a week after suffering a concussion. But he said there will be no divisions in the locker room about his own status, bcecause Ward says his teammates know he can be counted on to play if he possibly can.

“People on this team know that I’m a competitor,” Ward said. “I’ll try to do all I can to play.”

No run game, suspect offensive line, QB whose style is based on not being knocked down, poor special teams, mouthy wideouts, cheap shot artists. It’s a good thing these guys won the last Super Bowl, otherwise they would totally suck!

Steelers colors and turning rainbow lately..
Maybe Ben can spend some extra time with Hines and smooth things over. Ben can put Hines’ legs behind his head and help stretch em out good and proper. Then they’ll both be ready to go on Sunday.

Hines Ward would not even have a Super Bowl Ring had it not be for Big Ben!! Trust me Charlie Batch or Tommy Maddox wouldn’t have gotten Hiney Ward a ring!! Hines needs to shut up!! The Steelers have 2 Super Bowl because they finally drafted an ELITE Quarterback!!

If you are calling Roethlisberger a pussy then you are either ignorant or a racist. No other qb in the league holds on to the ball longer then Ben, trying to find that open receiver, no matter what hit is coming.

The shine is coming off Ward. In addition to being a cheap-shot artist, he has a mongo ego when he’s off the field.
Hopefully he’ll call out Polamalu soon so the Steelers can continue this little tabloid drama.

There is no catfight going on Bearsrule….
Of course the timing of the injury couldn’t really come at a worse team b/c of the media hounding these two and whatnot, but if you watched the game you can see Ben and Hines talking to eachother multiple times on the sidelines. Laughing, smiling, and anything else that may take place on the sidelines during a game. When Ben threw Hines the TD pass they were both jumping up and down and gave eacother a hug…LOL….that does sound like two girlfriends.
But, in all seriousness, there isn’t any type of rift between these two guys.

@steelcurtndee
Thanks for the translation einstein. Anyone suggesting Ben is a pussy has obviously smoked themselves stupid. You can call him and his two superbowl rings pussies, however, at the end of the day your still an armchair qb.

In other words Hines is saying…
“nobody questions me cuz they know I’m not a pussy like Ben”
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Basically. Not one player spoke up in Ben’s defense after what Hines said. Make no mistake of who owns that locker room……Hines Ward. And it’s well deserved. Hines had a reputation of toughness as a Steeler LONG before Ben ever got to town.

“Hines is going to do whats best for Hines”
You could take that 2 ways:
1) Hines is selfish and looks out for himself
2) Big Ben is taking an opportunity to say the things that Hines should have said when Ben was injured
Either way, it spells F-U-C-K-Y-O-U Hines

SteelCurtn – you took the words right out of my mouth! That’s exactly how that read. As a Ravens fan, I love seeing these guys fight. Frankly, I thought it was all being overblown, but it now seems as if there’s a full blown in house brawl going on. WOW! Will be interesting to see how this plays out…

copes cabana says:
December 8, 2009 9:07 PM
Ed Bouchette said that Ben was joking when he made those comments.
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That’s the problem with talking to the press. You say it, they write it down, someone else reads it and who knows how the comments were intended. Just stick to the tired old cliches (“he will give 110%”,”we’re taking it one day at a time”,” Hi Mom!”). All this 24 hour news has got these guys way too chatty, No wonder Sean Payton is shutting his guys down. Good move.

Hey Ravens fans, How much does it hurt that you were ONE game away from the SB last year and now you have no chance. Flacco is a bust and you know it. Everyone wishes they had the next Roethlisberger (CLE with Frye, etc) but all you have is a QB who stinks. Ray Gay and Ed Reed are old and all but done, Rex is gone, and Mason is 45 years old.
Pittsburgh wil be back next year with a healthy Troy (free from teh Madden curse) but your guys are old and done. Looks like the new AFC North rivalry is Cincy and Pitt.

@ Furious George …
Oh my, here you are again, Skipper! Still wallowing in the Steelers’ misfortunes? Bless your heart! I guess you get so little to cheer about at the home … tsk, tsk. I see you’ve brought along a crowd. At least “braindead” recognizes his limitations. Try to play nice with the other haters now and enjoy your revelry while you can. History teaches that the Steelers will eventually right themselves and get back in the hunt. And when that happens you’ll just get all … well, furious again. Good thing there will always be enough secanol to chase away the nightmares our overflowing trophy case seems to cause you.
Hey to Gilligan.

bluestree says:
December 8, 2009 7:44 PM
No run game, suspect offensive line, QB whose style is based on not being knocked down, poor special teams, mouthy wideouts, cheap shot artists. It’s a good thing these guys won the last Super Bowl, otherwise they would totally suck!
You can hit the lottery from the trailer park too.

Interesting that people are using nicknames like “whines” that make zero sense. Hines has never once whined about being or being fined. He takes a defender’s best shot and pops up with a smile. He gets as good as he gives. Methinks the Steelers haters (namely, Ravens and Bungles fans) are just upset that a slow and undersized WR put their favorite phony tough guy defenders (namely guys like Kieth Rivers, Ed Reed, and Bart Scott) flat on their backs and walked away smiling and laughing about it. LOL. Hines is THE MAN. It’s always the humiliated LB or safety that ends up whining to the press and making excuses…..trying to preserve their phony tough guy images.
Oh, and for those Ben R nutlickers that say “Hines would have no ring eithout Ben”….that logic works both ways. Ben would have no rings without Hines……who’s numbers Pre-Ben were just about the same as the numbers Post-Ben. Hines was MVP of Super Bowl XL….not Ben. Randle El threw more TD passes in that game than Ben did. And Hines has saved the Steelers’ bacon FAR more times than Ben has. Ben wasn’t the only good QB the Steelers could’ve gone after in that draft.
Like I said, NOBODY spoke up in Ben’s defense. The Steelers are Hines Ward’s team, not Ben’s.

Um….here’s the COMPLETE QUOTE.
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Jory Rand: “Do you find any irony in the fact that Hines is hurt this week?”
Roethlisberger: “No – I don’t want Hines to be hurt, you know, I want him to be out there playing, but … he can’t play, he can’t play.”
“Hines will do what’s best for Hines, sure,” Roethlisberger said. “And Limas will be able to step up, as will Mike Wallace, whoever else we decide to put in there, I know it and we’re not going to make any quick decisions on Hines because we know that he still may be out there – I don’t really know what the situation is with him yet.”
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Ben takes the high road, but people use selective editing to serve their own agendas (or web hits in this case).

Another report……
Notebook: Ben doesn’t belittle Ward’s sore hammy
TEXT SIZE Increase text size Decrease text size
By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
Wednesday December 9, 2009 12:21 AM
PITTSBURGH — Talk about irony. Ten days after Hines Ward questioned Ben Roethlisberger’s toughness, the shoe was on the other foot.
Due to a grade 1 hamstring pull, Ward is questionable for Thursday night’s game in Cleveland.
********When asked about Ward’s injury, Roethlisberger didn’t cause a controversy like Ward did on Nov. 29.
“Hines will do what’s best for Hines, I’m sure,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday. “I don’t want Hines to be hurt. I want him out there playing. But if he can’t play, he can’t play.”*******
Before the Steelers played in Baltimore, Ward said he was disappointed that Roethlisberger didn’t play because “it’s just a concussion.” Ward also said the Steelers’ locker room had a 50/50 split over Roethlisberger not playing against the archrival Ravens.
Ward, who was hurt on the next-to-last play in Sunday’s 27-24 loss to Oakland, is listed as questionable for the game against Cleveland. He did not practice Tuesday but may try to work out today.
“You know me, I’m a competitor,” Ward said. “People on this team know that I’m a competitor. I’ll try to do all I can to play. I’m going to do all I can to be out there. Never count me out.
“But I have to be smart at the same time,” Ward added. “If I don’t feel I’m capable of playing, I won’t go out there and jeopardize more games the rest of the year.”
If Ward can’t play, rookie Mike Wallace will start in his place.
Limas Sweed would be the No. 3 receiver and unless there’s a last-minute roster move, Stefan Logan, who’s been strictly used a kick return specialist, would be the No. 4 wideout.

Basically. Not one player spoke up in Ben’s defense after what Hines said. Make no mistake of who owns that locker room……Hines Ward. And it’s well deserved. Hines had a reputation of toughness as a Steeler LONG before Ben ever got to town.
Nah, he just has been fortunate not to get lit up by Ray Lewis, LaRon Landry, Brian Dawkins or any number of other goons that would knock the s$5t out of him.
Im hoping he calls out Polamalu, so he can bust in that stupid face.
So glad my Raiders PUNKED his team after that b.s. face mask on Chris Johnson. Football gods channeled BRUCE ALMIGHTY that day.

@cbass…sounds like you are graspinig at straws with your dreams of next year……if you say Flacco is a bust I guess the Ravens should just give up on him now…..
How do you figure everyone wishes we had the next rapist drama queen whose carreer will be ending soon due to concussions???? Not sure what you meant by that.
Speaking of old/injury prone wide receivers…how old is wines hard?? Wasnt he hurt at the end of last year as well??? By the looks of your defense I think your coordinator is gone as well….
But you all will see… the steelers will be back next year….you’ll see…mark my words….you’ll be sorry Ravens fans……just wait till next year…..blah..blah..blah…..urananss!

This would have been an ideal opp for Ben to have Hines’ back — rather than pop off with the message that “Hines will do what’s best for Hines, I’m sure.”
Not cool – this was the perfect opportunity to take the high road, and work toward unifying the locker room now that the chips are really down. Instead, Ben made a petty self-serving comment and basically put his own pettiness above the interests of his coaches, teammates and the fans.
Best case scenario is that Ben was “joking,” but even so – in the current climate, that would be foolhardy at best.
Either way, not your best move, Ben.
Also, I recently heard a comment from Santonio Holmes – I believe it was on NFLN’s NFL Total Access – where it really sounded like ‘Tone and some on the offense were flat blaming the Steeler defense for their current plight. True or not, that’s not the kind of comment that will improve anything for the Steelers.
Even Coach Tomlin is publicly placing blame on individuals, naming names. Ike Taylor’s name came out of his mouth, with others to implicitly follow once these sweeping lineup changes take effect. Again, I can see no real benefit to publicly placing blame on specific individuals – regardless of if there is or isn’t any truth to the assertion(s).
As a lifelong Steeler fan, it’s disappointing to see offense v. defense, some offense v. some defense, head coaches v. defense, multiple specific names being blamed by other specific individuals with high profiles and leadership roles. Tomlin better right this ship — and it aint looking too good with word that Troy might be done for the year.

Wick- your post @ 6:58 was interesting and thoughtful. Makes sense to me. To the Steelers fan who posted about no one publicly having BR’s back last week…also a good point. Sometimes shaky chemistry and fingerpointing can derail even talented teams just as having great chemistry can help push not as talented teams have great years.
For years it’s been around either openly teammates questioning it or by anonymous whispers in multiple places that BR’s work ethic isn’t the best nor is he well liked and here and there you see a bit of evidence. Does it mean it’s true? No. But with as much smoke as there has been, there is a chance there’s fire there.

@Coop …
Ah, so you’re a Browns fan! Well that explains the attitude.
Yes, I do know the Steelers play the Browns and I was so impressed by your thoughtful commentary about the game …
Oh, wait … you didn’t post anything about the game, did you? You posted more tired nonsense about “Whines Hard.”
Yeah, you’re just here for the relevant stories. Uh-huh.

Fed up says: December 9, 2009 4:47 AM
You Steeler haters are amusing. When your team wins 6 Super Bowls perhaps your trash talk will hold more merit.
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When YOUR team wins six without the refs gift-wrapping any of them, YOU can talk the trash.
Until then, keep praying your “championship team” doesn’t follow up that complete embarrassment on Sunday with a loss to the one-win Browns. That would be priceless..